All Your Insides Fall To Pieces
by eden alice
Summary: 'She was beginning to regret letting Liam have the day off.' Carla needs some help...
1. Chapter 1

All Your Insides Fall To Pieces

She was beginning to regret letting Liam have the day off. She had practically ordered him to take a whole day off and he had responded by telling her in great detail how he would spend the time with his wife while she faked nonchalance. She would never let on that hearing about his drip of a partner caused a spark of jealousy.

Liam would never know when she rarely admitted it to herself. And so she ignored it just like she ignored her business partners childish and often daft ramblings. It had been getting to the point that she could not concentrate being in such a small office with a man that insisted on spinning noisily on his chair for hours on end. Realising that it would actually be easier if she just did both their work loads alone.

It had all gone according to plan earlier in the day. Of course she had slept in as long as possible and had no time for breakfast and was consequently feeling a little dizzy but nothing a strong coffee would not fix. Janice had even managed to arrive at work early and Carla had happily shut herself away with her work and the radio.

Only now she had a new client on the phone who wanted his order ready a week early and a sharp pain forming behind her eyes that got worse as she got more and more frustrated. It was probably silly to ignore the pain but she carried on typing and just hoped it was not the start of a nasty migraine. That would be the last thing she needed, she had been felling a little odd in recent weeks, a little off and not quite her normal self assured persona. She had noticed a new tight breathless feeling in her chest and the way her fiancé had become a little too smothering for her liking.

Liam would have been the only person she would want to share these recent developments with. Only she would see him kissing and laughing with Maria and the words would freeze on her tongue and a sudden urge to scream would almost overtake her. Even with Tony always around she had never felt so alone and it was terrifying to doubt how she felt about the man she planned to marry. He was currently away on an important business trip and Carla did not know what was worse; having to hide her relief at having her home to herself or the way she missed him and hated being left alone with her thoughts.

She placed her mobile down against her desk with more force than was strictly necessary after being put on hold by a snotty sectary once again. It was so typical that when she wanted to renegotiate the contract the client seemed to be avoiding her at all costs when only days earlier he had happily leered at her. To make matters even more annoying she could not remember the idiot's name, she had been unusually forgetful recently. But she refused to bother looking it up when the man had caused her more grief than anyone possibly could in three hours, except for maybe Liam.

All she wanted to do was to crawl onto her soft sofa in her dressing gown with a large glass of red wine but she was too stubborn to call Liam and ask him to come in and cover for her and she would never trust her staff to actually work unsupervised. There was an unopened whiskey bottle in her bottom draw but it wasn't quite lunch time and she knew from experience that it would only turn her headache into something more debilitating.

The letters on her computer screen seemed to refuse to form actual words so she saved the document before she broke something in frustration. She pushed back with her feet and let the wheels of the chair carry her a short distance backwards as she leaned backwards and stretched. Sleep had not been easy the previous night and with Tony away she made no attempt to hide her restlessness. She must have eventually fallen asleep in an awkward position because not her neck felt stiff and a little sore.

"Oh sorry Miss C." Sean burst into the office without pretence causing her to physically jump and open her eyes startled. His electric green jumper caused her to blink repeatedly half because it was actually painfully bright to look at and half because it was such an odd colour to wear with his skin tone.

Sean placed his hand on his hip and carried on talking as if he had not even noticed her reaction. "Me and the girls were wondering if we could go to lunch now. I'm surprised you can't hear Kelly's stomach rumbling from in here."

"Well I might not be able to hear her stomach but I can defiantly hear her voice…constantly." Carla arched an eyebrow and wondered if Sean was intentionally pulling a face like a kicked puppy.

"Go," She sighed as Sean smiled. "Just make sure you are all back in an hour. I think we could all do with a break."

"Cheers Miss C!" Sean shouted over his shoulder as he left in a hurry.

She really could do with a break, although she did not feel all that hungry it probably time to actually eat something even if it was just so she would be alert enough to yell at the sectary when she tried ringing again.

As the rabble filed out she did the same, grabbing her cardigan and bag but forgot to switch the computer off. She decided to head home for some painkillers, some quiet and a file she might need later.

She swore under her breath when her key stuck a little as she locked up the empty factory. Deciding that somehow this was yet another thing she could blame on Liam. Even if she did not like it she still somehow ended up wondering what he was doing. His wife was not the most mentally stimulating companion so it only made other activities more likely. What she hated the most was her business partners ability to get in her head and under her skin, it was meant to be the other way round and she was uncomfortable with the way it made her feel so unsettled.

It took a second for her to realise the harsh buzzing coming from her bag was her phone. Someone was ringing her. Even if she had just placed the damn thing in her bag it had somehow disappeared into the darkest corner where she could not find it without catching her hand on the sharp point of an old nail file.

She was still looking through her bag and about to move down the concert steps that led up to the factory when another wave of dizziness hit and caught her unaware. Her vision blacked out as if someone had put a blindfold across her eyes and she swayed unsteadily.

Then suddenly before she could think enough to panic she was falling, various parts of her body hitting the hard ground as she tumbled down. She landed in a heap as a hiss of pain escaped her lips...


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you so much for reading and replying. Hope you like this part..._

_Part Two_

She was on the ground, her whole body exploding with sharp pain that set her teeth on edge, but she was more concerned to why she was on the floor in an undignified heap. For a long time it hurt too much to move or to think so she stayed still on the damp rough ground and hoped the waves of agony would pass.

Then there was a metal clanging, sharp and loud and she would have covered her ears at the blinding pain it sent through her head but she was not quite conscious enough to move yet. And then someone was saying something, just one word and although she could not work it out she recognised something urgent in the noise. It took longer than it should for her to recognise her own name and she wished who ever was saying it would just leave her alone and just let her fall back into blissful unconsciousness.

With the hammering of feet running towards her she tried to force herself to sit up only to get halfway before a wave of dizziness forced her back down again. Movement felt as if someone had pushed hot pokers behind her eyes. It hurt so much that for a few seconds she forgot to breathe as she silently screamed for a release.

She must have passed out briefly because the next thing she remembered is blinking rapidly up at a figure that was crouched over her. There was a slight weight on her shoulder that must be a hand and with it the pieces finally start to fall back into place and she recognises the concerned dark eyes squinting down at her.

"Kevin." She tried to say instinctively as soon as her brain supplied a name that went with the face. Her voice sounded too weak to be her own, or her hearing was muddied so it did not seem as if the sounds had come from her mouth. And then she remembered another mans voice with a booming Scottish accent calling him Webster. Tony, she was thinking of Tony.

"You're all right love. Try not to move that was a nasty fall." She wanted to tell him that he mumbled too much and she struggled to hear and understand him but that felt like too much effort. And then she was too busy wondering what he meant by a fall.

"She alright Kev?" The new voice was even more irritating and she had no name to go with it. Only a mental flash of a potato that made her want to giggle like a school girl.

Kevin grunted his lack of answer to the question and she would have felt humiliated at being discussed like that but she was more concerned with the hands on her arms and legs patting her down. She groaned in annoyance and swiped the hands away when they went towards her ribs. As she moved a new stronger pain over took what had become a constant ache in her whole body besides the pounding in her head. The hands came into contact with a tender part of her side that sucked the air from her lungs, and one arm felt clumsy, a shooting pain shooting up to her shoulder when she moved it too much.

"Carla, calm down love. I just need to make sure you aint broken anything." She wanted to be angry. The panic was the sharpest thing to break through the fog in her mind; it was the only thing that helped make her eyes focus and her body move on command. But there was something in the gruff voice that she found just a little comforting and calming.

He had children; it stuck her suddenly and strangely. This was how a father talked to a child who had grazed its knees. Maybe later she would be conscious enough to be embarrassed at others witnessing her weakness.

For a while all she could do was blink stupidly as Kevin continued to check her over her fuzzy vision distorting his form. She tried her best not to cry out each time he finds a bruise or cut. Mr Potato Head hovered in the background but she tried to ignore him as it was too draining just focusing on the man in front of her. Why was she so tired? Maybe she had another night of restless sleep but she could not quite remember.

"I don't think anything is broken but I'm no doctor and those ribs seem a bit tender." The Kevin shape frowns as he speaks and she almost rolls her eyes. He opens his mouth to say some more but shuts it again at a sudden shrill ringing noise. For a moment she entertains the notion that the sound might have actually come from Kevin and even though it is painful to hear she wants to laugh at the silliness. The noise sent further spikes of pain through her tender head and she felt like she might be sick.

Then Kevin turned his head and looked just behind her. She turned following his gaze to see a phone, her phone and a few other random possessions sprawled across the pavement, her bag lying near by. It was her phone ringing. Her phone had been ringing before she had fallen.

And then the potato man lumbered over clumsily to pick the phone up, his hands slick with what looked like oil. "Says its Tony calling." He announced and stood there dumbly.

She groaned at the thought of holding a conversation, tipping her head forward and closing her eyes she felt something sticky dripping down the side of her face. "Course it is. Shut it off Ty." Kevin commanded.

The quiet was a relief as she brought her hand up automatically to wipe her face. Her fingers came into contact with something warm and wet bringing her hand to eye level she was met by the unmistakable shine of blood. No wonder her head felt so bad.

A gentle hand on her shoulder brought the world around her back into focus. "Careful you've got a nasty cut there. Do you remember what happened?"

She still hurt like hell and her vision refused to focus entirely but her brain was finally staring to work. She remembered being stressed and dizzy and at the top of the steps and her phone lost in the depths of her bag then there was pain.

"Most of it I think." She frowned and then immediately regretted it when a spot on her temple started to throb intensely. Her embarrassment becoming stronger, she wanted to get up and hide in her factory.

"That was possibly the worst place you could faint." Kevin sounded sympathetic but she could not help but get a little angry.

"I didn't faint." She insisted sharply without thinking. She tried to clench her hands into fists but her left arm was too painful to move, it felt sprained and she tucked it in gently to her side. Thankfully it was her rips on the opposite side that were causing her pain.

"I saw love. You just suddenly crumbled." He insisted gently.

"No," She did not even sound convinced to her own ears. Tears pricked at her eyes because she hated being so helpless. If only she could just leave or disappear into the cobbles. She would get up only she did not trust her legs to hold up and falling over would only add to her humiliation. "Can you just help me up please?"

"Kevin, you forgot your sandwiches again. Honestly I don't know why I bother making them."

A new voice from further down the street stopped her train of thought and they all turned to watch Sally approach, a plastic lunch box clutched in her hands. Sally stopped suddenly when she looked up and saw the scene in front of her.

"Kevin, what an earth is going on?" She asked her husband eyeing the woman he crouched over suspiciously and then Tyrone who stood clutching Carla's bag having picked up all her belongings.

"It's nothing Sally." Carla insisted very aware that there was blood dripping off her chin and probably staining her pale and expensive cardigan.

"She fainted and fell down the stairs." Tyrone explained at almost the same time.

Sally's hand went over her mouth with an almost comical gesture of shock. "Goodness, you look terrible Miss Connor. Should I call an ambulance?" She was already trying to balance Kevin's lunch in one hand while the other reached into her pocket before she received an answer.

"No Sally, there really is no need. Will someone just help me get up?" Carla pleaded quickly; ready to use threats or insults if they refused to listen to her. All she wanted was to get off the cold floor. She hated the way everyone had to look down at her.

"Are you sure? You could have something seriously wrong like a concussion or…"

Carla groaned and covered her ears as Sally talked. It felt better when she held her head, like she could hold the pain inside still enough that she could think clearly.

"Sal, I think she's made up her mind." Kevin cut in and Carla was insanely grateful. "Lets just get her off the ground and then we can decide if we need a doctor or anything."

"Honestly I don't know why you haven't done that already. Dressed like that she'll catch hypothermia down there." Sally snorted.

"What can I say I forgot my thermals." Carla snapped. "If you promise to just shut up I'll give you the rest of the day off." She closed her eyes hoping they would all disappear as much as she hoped the pain would end.

She did not have to open her eyes to see the offended expression on Sally's face. "Well it might be better if I run the factory for you for the rest of the day. You don't have to worry about a thing. Let my just find someone to help who is not covered in motor grease and round up all the girls."

"Sally…" Kevin started and Carla felt him move away towards his wife.

"Don't fuss Kevin. Miss Connor does not want that ravel see her like this. If I find them all I can keep control." She explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Carla opened her eyes to see the older woman already hurrying away.

"Could my day get any worse?" Carla whispered softly already dreading the answer.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the reviews, finally started trying to finish this again. Hope people still want to read.**

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Sometimes he wondered if drinking so much at lunch meant that the rest of the day was wasted. Mostly he decided he did not care especially on his day off and when his business partner would always kick his arse if he got too lazy.

Besides being a bit drunk eased his boredom a little, Maria had insisted they head over to the pub so she could meet Fizz on the factory employees lunch break. He had been enjoying himself watching a cheesy action film marathon all morning but his wife had moaned about them doing more things together. Sometimes it felt like she was overcompensating and he did not like to think who she was trying to prove something to.

So he was sandwiched between Janice and Kelly quietly uncomfortable to be seen with the workforce and ever so slightly scared of wondering hands while his wife gossiped away with her best friend. He really was bored but saw an opportunity to slip away as Lloyd and Steve walked over to the other end of the bar.

"Scuse me Jan, gotta go meet the boys." He announced squeezing past people he really did not want to be touching too much. He had put up with listening to their often bizarre conversations at work.

Behind him Kelly made some kind of comment and Janice cackled in response. Maria glanced at him and frowned before turning back to Fizz. He was sure he would hear what he had done wrong when they were alone. His dad had warned him marriage was hard work, it's just that he did not expect the work to be so unfulfilling.

He needed another drink and to decide on what takeaway to have for dinner.

It was impossible to ignore Sally as she entered the pub in her own flustered tornado. A lunchbox clutched tightly in her hands and yet too involved in what had her so worked up to remember she would not normally be caught dead with something so common in front of the others.

"I should have known you were all lurking in here." Sally announced slightly breathless.

"Weren't you meant to be joining us as well Webster? Or is the local boozer too good for you know?" Janice questioned lazily clearly unimpressed by Sally's entrance. Beside her Kelly rolled her eyes and Fizz murmured her own agreement.

"Well there is no time for that there has been an accident at the factory…"

Liam stopped in the middle of the pub in order to hear the commotion. His heart beat a little quicker in his chest at the mention of the factory. Surely they had already had more than their fair share of bad luck in that place.

"What do you mean an accident at the factory? You are all bloody here." He snapped a little, feeling left out when this was his business they were talking about, all the while painfully aware of who was not present.

Sean chose to exit the toilets just in time to hear Liam's words. His gasp was almost comical and Liam could not help even with his growing irritation doing a double take at just how loud the other mans jumper was.

"Hayley was still finishing up when we left…" Sean supplied clearly imagining all sorts in his head.

"No she left just after us to go help Roy." Fizz answered before Sean could get too caught up in his own hysteria.

"Then that leaves Carla. Unless there is a break in. Are we having a break in?"

"Don't be silly Sean." Sally snapped before Liam could because he froze for a moment at the mention of his business partner's name. He did not notice the look his wife sent him from her seat as he became too quiet.

"For god sakes Sal don't be such a tease!" Janice all but growled at the other woman.

"Bet that's what Kevin says all the time." Kelly stage whispered just loud enough that everyone heard. Sean, Fizz and Maria all cringed and tried to hide their laughter while Janice cackled her best witch impression.

Sally shot them all her best icy glare and opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by Liam.

"Can we get to the point today because I really would like to know what's the problem with MY factory. Or do I have to go see for my self?" He all but shouted getting the attention of all his staff as well as most of the others currently in the pub.

No one was really used to Liam being the intimidating boss. When it came to the good cop bad cop routine he was so often good cop that when he did raise his voice he wasn't taken seriously. This time however there was something in Liam's tone that made all the workers jump a little.

"Liam," Maria chastised "I'm sure its nothing too bad. Sally would have said already if it was burning to the ground." She immediately felt uncomfortable as soon as she started speaking. The inner workings of the factory was not something she knew much about and she hated how she felt like an outsider when surrounded by her friends and her husband.

"The factory is on fire!" Sean exclaimed and Liam glared at him.

"Oh no it's not to do with the factory as such. Unless we are counting the main entrance, those steps have always been an accident waiting to happen. I used to warn Mr Baldwin but do you think…"

"Sally!" Liam interrupted quickly getting more and more agitated. So much for a relaxing day off.

"Sorry Mr Connor." Sally looked suitably ashamed suddenly remembering how she planned to be as discreet as possible. She had been so caught up in the drama that a serious situation had became gossip and that would not do if she was going to use the opportunity to show she was fit for management.

Trouble was now she had everyone more than curious to what had taken place so it did not matter if she pulled Liam aside and told him confidentially the others would just head straight over to the factory and then she would be in more trouble with Carla.

"It's just that Miss Connor had a bit of an accident. According to Kevin she collapsed while leaving and took a nasty fall down those concrete stairs." Sally had turned and addressed Liam directly as she lowered her voice but it did not stop the others overhearing.

Liam was unable to hear his staff reacting as for a moment all he heard was his blood as his heart started to quicken and he was overcome with a sickening sense of urgency.

"Carla collapsed?" He asked in disbelief. Carla was often so overbearing and larger than life that she seemed indestructible. "Is she okay? Is she still there?" He demanded grabbing Sally by the elbow so she focused on him and ignored the others.

"Well she seems coherent enough to make her usual demands while still lying on the ground but I really do think she should let us call an ambulance." Sally answered, a little uncomfortable with the level of intensity from her boss.

"And you just listened to her!" Liam rolled his eyes. Any reassurance that Carla was still being herself was lost in the disbelief that anyone would actually listen to her pig headed stubbornness at a time like this.

He ignored yet another derogatory comment from Kelly and his wife trying to get his attention. Carla had been a bit strange all week. Nothing he thought anyone else would notice, Tony certainly didn't, but he had noticed something different in her posture, how she seemed to alternate between agitated and sad. If she was passing out then there was something clearly wrong with her and it angered him that she had not called him into cover for her and could have prevented this happening. Why had she ordered him to take a day off anyway?

"But don't you worry Mr Connor I have everything under control. You just enjoy your day off. Janice can put her first aid skills to use and patch up Miss Connor and if it's needed Kevin can take her to hospital and I can run the factory for the rest of the day." Sally's chin rose as she tried to take control of the situation and used it to her best advantage. She did not like why Liam seemed so upset with her when she had not done anything wrong.

Liam hated feeling pushed out, after the amount of tragedy his family had shared he was overly protective. He would not be able to rest till he was sure Carla was fine, after all she would and had done the same for him.

"No you lot stay here and finish your break." He ordered shaking off his surprise and worry enough that he could take control of the situation. It was his job, now especially because his brother was not there to do it. He would never feel comfortable relying on Janice's medical skills as much as he knew Carla would despise any of their staff being around her while she was vulnerable, especially someone like Janice who would not hesitate to use it against her.

"It's my factory my responsibility. I will drag that stubborn cow to the hospital if I have to and Hayley is the supervisor and will be in charge for the rest of the day." He finished leaving no room for argument. Already he was distracted silently asking himself why he was still in the pub talking to the rabble when Carla needed him.

"Mr Connor there is really no need I'm perfectly capab…"

"Liam, she's right babe. Between her and Hayley the factory is in capable hands and Carla is not your responsibility. Let's just call Tony and go back home." Maria's whine interrupted Sally before she could launch into a whole speech like a child delivering a book report. Besides her Fizz nodded her agreement automatically backing up her best friend.

Liam frowned, "Carla's family." He stated simply in naïve shock that anyone would not think his place was by the woman he shared so much history with. Wasn't that enough for her? The more he dwelled on it the more his blood boiled, Maria knew that Tony was away for a few days and that Carla did not have anyone else. And even if Tony was still around Liam would never call the man he just about tolerated when he could go to Carla himself.

"Liam please I need you." Maria tried to grab his hand but he pulled away like her touch burnt.

He had no words to argue with her, not with everyone watching, not when was so angry and when he was desperate to be somewhere else.

"Take another half hour and then I want you all back to work and the order finished by the end of the day." He ordered already turning to leave.

"But Liam."

It was too late he was already off jogging towards the factory and unable to hear Maria.

"Liam!"


End file.
